Leftovers

• Science

  • Science Alert ☛ Scientists 'Tattoo' Tardigrades in Nanotechnology Breakthrough

    For science!

• Career/Education

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-04-24 [Older] How are America's elite universities financed?

• Hardware

  • Hackaday ☛ Deep Dive On Panel Making

    It is easier than ever to produce projects with nice enclosures thanks to 3D printing and laser cutting. However, for a polished look, you also need a labeled front panel. We’ve looked at several methods for doing that in the past, but we enjoyed [Accidental Science’s] video showing his method for making laminated panels.

  • Hackaday ☛ Save Cells From The Landfill, Get A Power Bank For Your Troubles

    A hefty portable power bank is a handy thing to DIY, but one needs to get their hands on a number of matching lithium-ion cells to make it happen. [Chris Doel] points out an easy solution: salvage them from disposable vapes and build a solid 35-cell power bank. Single use devices? Not on his watch!

  • Hackaday ☛ Design Constraints Bring Lockbox To Life

    One of the most paradoxical aspects of creating art is the fact that constraints, whether arbitrary or real, and whether in space, time, materials, or rules, often cause creativity to flourish rather than to wither. Picasso’s blue period, Gadsby by Ernest Vincent Wright, Tetris, and even the Volkswagen Beetle are all famous examples of constraint-driven artistic brilliance. Similarly, in the world of electronics we can always reach for a microcontroller but this project from [Peter] has the constraint of only using passive components, and it is all the better for it.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-04-24 [Older] UN warns of rise in vaccine-preventable diseases [Ed: Well, forcing everybody to take experimental and monopolised vaccines is dangerous as it imperils a momentum of trust in vaccines; 2020 and 2021 were doing a lot of damage to trust in authorities, health professionals and vaccines

  • CBC ☛ 2025-04-21 [Older] Your morning cup of coffee is about to cost even more — thanks to U.S. tariffs

  • CBC ☛ 2025-04-22 [Older] Quebec says measles outbreak has ended

  • CBC ☛ 2025-04-22 [Older] 'Your face looks grotesque': How looksmaxxing can harm young men and boys

  • CBC ☛ 2025-04-22 [Older] American vision care non-profit moving to Manitoba as U.S. tariffs drive up costs

  • New York Times ☛ Immunotherapy Drug Spares Cancer Patients From Grisly Surgeries and Harsh Therapies

    For a limited group of cancer patients who have solid tumors in the stomach, rectum, esophagus and other organs, an immunotherapy trial offered stunning results.

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-04-23 [Older] Teen Cannabis Use Rises in Canada After Edibles Are Legalized

  • CBC ☛ 2025-04-22 [Older] Desperate to walk again, this 25-year-old Ontario woman is ready to pay $40K for U.S. spinal assessment

  • NYPost ☛ Beware this popular spice that could interfere with prescription medications: ‘Can be hazardous’

    A new study suggests a beloved spice could be messing with your medication — and how to choose the right one.

  • The Straits Times ☛ ‘Tiger bites lion’: Getting a kick out of Malaysian coffee shop beverages

    Hor ka sai is believed to have originated as a high-energy drink for tin miners in Perak.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaria threat in Malaysia currently comes from macaques

    The rise in zoonotic malaria has been linked to factors such as deforestation.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Chinese tea hub Pu’er branches into coffee as tastes change

    Pu’er’s plantations sell tens of thousands of tonnes of coffee to major Chinese cities each year.

  • The Straits Times ☛ ‘Park’ in central Japan’s Shizuoka recognised by Guinness as world’s smallest

    A former town official proposed the idea after being inspired by Mill Ends Park in Oregon, the previous record-holder.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Unidentified infectious disease cluster found in Kedah, Malaysia

    Health authorities in Kedah are on alert for patients with symptoms including fever, cough and blisters.

  • NYPost ☛ Baby born with rare genetic disorder undergoes eight surgeries in 18 months: ‘You have to just be strong for him’

    At 18 months old, baby Luca has endured more than most people will in their lifetime.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Arrest of fake cardiologist draws attention to India’s medical registry system

    A 2016 WHO report indicated that over 57 per cent of India’s health workforce in India was made up of “quacks”.

  • Science Alert ☛ Bed Bugs Appear to Have a Genetic Resistance to Pesticides

    We feel itchy already.

• Proprietary

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) / LLM Slop / Plagiarism

    • Hackaday ☛ VESC Mods Made Via Vibe Coding

      [David Bloomfield] wanted to make some tweaks to an embedded system, but didn’t quite have the requisite skills. He decided to see if vibe coding could help.

    • CNX Software ☛ Arduino cloud editor gets Claude-powered Hey Hi (AI) assistant trained on Arduino docs and libraries

      Arduino recently announced that their Cloud Editor now includes an Hey Hi (AI) assistant based on Anthropic’s Claude large language model (LLM). The Hey Hi (AI) assistant is designed to make the coding experience smoother by providing intelligent, context-aware support directly within the Cloud Editor. This tool understands your specific board, libraries, and project setup, and generates code and fixes bugs. It also explains functions without requiring users to leave the development environment.

• Security

  • Steinar H Gunderson ☛ Steinar H. Gunderson: Random IS-IS interop notes

    Some random stuff about running IS-IS between FRR (on Linux) and IOS-XE (Cisco 3650 in my case): [..]

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • CBC ☛ 2025-04-22 [Older] B.C. ministry ordered to hand over records in alleged domestic violence privacy breach

    • Hackaday ☛ Quick And Easy Digital Stethoscope Keeps Tabs On Cat

      For all their education, medical practitioners sometimes forget that what’s old hat to them is new territory for their patients. [David Revoy] learned that when a recent visit to the veterinarian resulted in the need to monitor his cat’s pulse rate at home, a task that he found difficult enough that he hacked together this digital cat stethoscope.

• Defence/Aggression

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-04-23 [Older] Kashmir attack: India stalls Pakistan river water treaty

  • RFERL ☛ Pakistan Kills Dozens Of Insurgents From Afghanistan, Exchanges Gunfire With India

    Pakistani security forces said they killed dozens of militants attempting to cross into the South Asian nation from Afghanistan, even as its troops separately continued to exchange gunfire with the India military in Kashmir amid skyrocketing tensions in the region

  • The Straits Times ☛ US in touch with India and Pakistan, urges both to work towards a ‘responsible solution’

    India is an increasingly important US partner as Washington aims to counter China’s rising influence in Asia.

  • France24 ☛ Indian, Pakistan troope exchange fire for third night in a row

    Indian and Pakistani troops exchanged fire along the Kashmir border for a third consecutive night, New Delhi officials said Sunday, amid escalating tensions triggered by a deadly attack on a tourist hotspot in the Muslim-majority territory administered by India. Dr. Sajjan Gohel, International Security Director at Asia-Pacific foundation, joins us from London.

  • France24 ☛ Pakistani troops kill 54 Afghan militants trying to cross the border

    The Pakistani military on Sunday said that security forces had killed 54 militants who attempted to cross into the country from Afghanistan overnight. The insurgents were spotted and killed near the former stronghold of Pakistan Taliban near North Waziristan, a district in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province along the Afghan border.

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-04-24 [Older] Pahalgam attack: Pakistan closes land, air borders to India

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-04-24 [Older] Pahalgam attack: Tensions rise between Pakistan, India

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-04-24 [Older] South Korea: Former President Moon indicted for bribery

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-04-24 [Older] Cheeto Mussolini issues rare rebuke for Putin after Kyiv attacks

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-04-23 [Older] Jordan outlaws Muslim Brotherhood opposition group

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-04-24 [Older] Kabila's return to DRC fuels tensions, as ceasefire starts

  • CS Monitor ☛ Vancouver police rule out terrorism in deadly car attack on Filipino festival

    Police said Sunday that the suspect has a history of mental health issues. Eleven people were killed and dozens of others injured as the ramming attack shook Canada days before a federal election.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Student’s stabbing rampage injures 3 in South Korea

    The student attacked the school's employees with a knife around mid-morning.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea martial law put Lee Jae-myung back on track for presidency

    SEOUL - Lee Jae-myung, the liberal South Korean politician favoured to become the country's next leader, has overcome a knife attack, martial law and criminal charges on his unexpected path back toward the presidency.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China seizes disputed reef near key Philippine military outpost: Report

    Beijing claims sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea, including the Tiexian Reef, or Sandy Cay.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Philippines, US test air defences hours after China seizes reef claimed by Manila

    Up to 17,000 personnel are taking part in the Balikatan exercises, which will simulate a “full-scale battle scenario”.

  • The Straits Times ☛ US, Philippine troops shoot down drones in joint defence drills

    U.S. and Philippine soldiers shot down drones with Stinger missiles during live-fire drills on Sunday, part of annual joint military exercises taking place at a time of simmering tensions with Beijing over the South China Sea.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China says handled Philippine ‘infringement’ at disputed reef

    China a day earlier said it had seized control of the Tiexian Reef, also known as Sandy Cay.

  • JURIST ☛ UN Syria envoy warns of potential grave consequences for country’s future

    UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen warned Friday of “grave” consequences for Syria’s future without genuine political inclusion and urgent economic support for a successful political transition.

  • New York Times ☛ Israeli Military Strikes Near Beirut, Saying Hezbollah Was the Target

    The attack raised concerns that the cease-fire that ended a war between Israel and Lebanese militants might be in jeopardy.

  • France24 ☛ Israel strikes south Beirut for third time since ceasefire began

    An Israeli strike hit south Beirut on Sunday for the third time since a fragile November 27 ceasefire. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the strike targeted a building used by Hezbollah to store "precision-guided missiles".

  • New Yorker ☛ “When Are More Americans Going to Speak Up?”

    Senator Cory Booker on the grave harm that The Insurrectionist has inflicted on American life in his first hundred days in office.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • New York Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man’s Meeting With Zelensky Offers Ukrainians a Glimmer of Hope

      The United States has been pushing Ukraine to accept a peace plan that seems in part a gift to Moscow. But the short meeting of the leaders, and subsequent comments, appeared to be a change in tone.

    • New York Times ☛ Zurab Tsereteli, Polarizing Russian Sculptor of Colossal Works, Dies at 91

      In bronze, he glorified figures like Peter the Great and Vladimir Putin, often to the public’s distaste. Some works, like a giant Columbus and a 9/11 memorial, were reviled.

    • New York Times ☛ Rubio Says Convicted Felon Will Decide This Week on Continuing Ukraine War Talks

      Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there are reasons to be optimistic, but also asserted there are “other issues” on which the administration wants to spend its energy.

    • France24 ☛ Russia launches nearly 150 drones in massive attack on Ukraine overnight

      Russia launched a massive attack of nearly 150 drones over Ukraine from Saturday into Sunday, according to Ukraine’s armed forces. Meanwhile, US President The Insurrectionist said he doubts Putin wants to end the three-year war in Ukraine. Catherine Viette tells us more.

    • RFERL ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Calls On Putin To 'Stop Shooting' And 'Sign A Deal'

      US President The Insurrectionist said he wants Russian leader Vladimir Putin to "stop shooting" and agree to a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine, a day after his face-to-face meeting Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of Pope Francis’s funeral.

    • France24 ☛ North Korea confirms for first time troop deployment to Russia's Kursk

      North Korea on Monday confirmed for the first time it has sent troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine. US, South Korean and Ukrainian intelligence officials said last year Pyongyang dispatched about 10,000 to 12,000 troops, but North Korea had previously neither confirmed nor denied the reports.

    • RFERL ☛ Moscow, Pyongyang Admit Use Of North Korean Troops Against Ukraine

      Russia has admitted for the first time that it deployed North Korean soldiers in the battle to push Ukrainian forces out of its Kursk region following Kyiv's shock incursion into the border area last year.

    • France24 ☛ North Korea confirms troop deployment to Russia's Kursk region

      North Korea on Monday confirmed for the first time it has sent troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine. US, South Korean and Ukrainian intelligence officials said last year Pyongyang dispatched about 10,000 to 12,000 troops, but North Korea had previously neither confirmed nor denied the reports.

    • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea confirms troop deployment to Russia, hails ‘heroes’

      State media claimed the North Koreans helped Russia to expel Ukrainian forces from the Kursk region.

    • RFERL ☛ Rubio Says Ukraine Peace Deal 'Closer' As Kyiv Calls For More Pressure On Russia

      US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said a deal to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine is "closer" as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for greater international pressure on the Kremlin following the latest wave of attacks along the front line.

    • Tom's Hardware ☛ Game controller exports to Russia banned by UK gov — hopes to reduce options for enemy drone pilots

      The UK's Foreign Office has implemented a ban on game controller exports to Russia.

• Environment

  • Energy/Transportation

    • The Straits Times ☛ Seoul steps up sinkhole prevention efforts after fatal accidents

      South Korea included S$2.08 million in its supplementary budget to support ground exploration efforts.

    • CBC ☛ 2025-04-20 [Older] B.C. prepares for tourism boom amid U.S. tariffs, 51st state rhetoric

    • CBC ☛ 2025-04-21 [Older] Last carbon tax rebate arrives Tuesday, but Finance Canada won't say how much it costs

    • Hackaday ☛ How Methane Took Over The Booster World

      Go back a generation of development, and excepting the shuttle-derived systems, all liquid rockets used RP-1 (aka kerosene) for their first stage. Now it seems everybody and their dog wants to fuel their rockets with methane. What happened? [Eager Space] was eager to explain in recent video, which you’ll find embedded below.

    • Ruben Schade ☛ #Japan2025 SCMaglev and Railway Park!

      I drafted this, but didn’t get to finish in time on an account of doing too many other things! I’m backdating this a day so the timeline works.

      Yesterday we and I went to what is quite possibly one of the greatest buildings in the world. Many such structures may come to mind that fit that bill, but while I’m happy to have seen some architectural wonders themselves, in this case I’m referring specifically to the contents of the structure in question. That’s not to say the SCMaglev and Railway Park near the Port of Nagoya also wasn’t an interesting building, with its sloped roof evocative of a Maglev train or a Shinkansen.

• Finance

  • The Straits Times ☛ China widens tax rebates for foreign tourists to boost spending

    It will also expand the list of eligible tax-refund stores to make it easier to claim the rebate.

  • CBC ☛ 2025-04-22 [Older] Ex-employees accuse former Better Business Bureau of bad behaviour

  • CBC ☛ 2025-04-22 [Older] The housing crisis lives rent free in the heads of these voters in Ontario

  • CBC ☛ 2025-04-22 [Older] Could Alberta's job market become a federal election issue?

  • New York Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man’s Tariffs Prompt Wave of Lawsuits

    The cases are the latest test of the president’s expansive claims of executive power.

  • Leaders of Japan, Vietnam discuss free trade in the face of tariff tensions

    Japanese leader Shigeru Ishiba also plans to discuss regional security during his stay in Hanoi.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-04-24 [Older] Hungary: Why is Orban's opponent so successful?

  • CBC ☛ 2025-04-20 [Older] In Italy, King Charles offers 'a surprisingly explicit show of support' for Canada

  • CBC ☛ 2025-04-20 [Older] These immigrants say Canada failed to plan for a population explosion. Now it's their top election issue

  • CBC ☛ 2025-04-20 [Older] Tariffs threaten cross-border family business where Canadians collect their U.S. packages

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-04-21 [Older] Some Migrants in Canada Lose Work Status While Applications Languish

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-04-21 [Older] Cheeto Mussolini's Tough Talk Might Help Liberal Mark Carney Win a Full Term as Canada's Prime Minister

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-04-21 [Older] Conservative Poilievre Seemed Poised to Be Canada's Next Leader. Then Cheeto Mussolini Declared Economic War

  • The Straits Times ☛ Lee Jae-myung, front runner for South Korea president, wins party primary

    The 61-year-old lawyer-turned-politician has been leading opinion polls for weeks.

  • The Straits Times ☛ S. Korea’s acting president faces candidacy deadline as his potential run roils conservative bloc

    Under election law, Mr Han Duck-soo must resign from his current position by May 4 to run for president.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Hannah Thomas, daughter of former Malaysia AG, taking on Australian PM in federal polls

    The election will take place on May 3.

  • New York Times ☛ In Canada’s Election, Mark Carney’s China Experience Becomes a Liability

    Mark Carney, who is running to win a full term as prime minister, has years of experience dealing with Chinese businesses and leadership. It’s become fodder for his opponents.

  • New York Times ☛ With a Bounty on His Head, a Critic of China Runs in Canada’s Election

    After Joe Tay set up a run for Parliament, China issued a warrant for his arrest and coordinated online attacks on his candidacy.

  • France24 ☛ Lotus Lantern Festival draws thousands in Seoul to celebrate Buddha’s birthday

    Thousands of South Koreans filled the streets of Seoul on Saturday for the annual Yeon Deung Hoe festival, celebrating Buddha’s upcoming birthday. Despite the rain, organisers expected around 50,000 attendees, with the evening parade featuring floats carried or rolled through the city centre. The festival, which began over 1,000 years ago, was recognised as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2020 and promotes the teachings of Buddhism worldwide. Eliza Herbert has this story.

  • New York Times ☛ Protests Against Israeli Official Heat Up Outside Synagogue in Brooklyn

    The clashes outside a synagogue where the official, Itamar Ben-Gvir, a far-right security minister, had planned to speak followed days of disturbances connected to his visit.

  • New York Times ☛ Netanyahu Accuses Israel’s Domestic Security Chief of Lying to Court

    Intent on firing the Shin Bet chief, Ronen Bar, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced him in a sharp affidavit, deepening national political divisions.

  • New York Times ☛ Authorities Make Arrest Linked to Noem’s Stolen Purse

    Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s purse contained her driver’s license, government badge, passport and $3,000 in cash when it was swiped from an upscale burger restaurant.

  • LRT ☛ The Holocaust and scripts in Europe: writing on the wall? – opinion

    In today’s Europe hardly anyone gives a second thought to the letters people use to write, as they are almost invariably from the Latin alphabet. This is followed by the use of Cyrillic in Bulgaria and Ukraine, and the Greek alphabet in Cyprus and Greece. Yet, until the Holocaust, Hebrew was the continent’s third-largest script by number of users. Tomasz Kamuselle writes for the New Eastern Europe magazine, partners of LRT English.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • JURIST ☛ Trinidad and Tobago politicians urged to take action on press freedom ahead of 2025 elections

    Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Thursday urged Trinidad and Tobago’s (T&T) political candidates to reaffirm their commitment to press freedom ahead of the elections following a sharp drop in the country’s security ranking on the World Press Freedom Index.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • Jacobin Magazine ☛ 2025-04-21 [Older] In Canada, the Strike Is Under New Management

• Digital Restrictions (DRM)

  • CBC ☛ 2025-04-21 [Older] Her 9-year-old used a voice remote to buy Netflix, now this Ontario mom wants to warn others

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Patents

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Soto v. US: Will the Court Require Congress to Say the “Magic Words?”

    Although most of our fare is IP related, I have also been keeping an eye on other Federal Circuit cases.  On April 28, 2025, the Supreme Court hears oral arguments in  one of those, Soto v. US, a case could significantly impact thousands of combat-disabled veterans seeking retroactive benefits. The Court will decide whether veterans can receive full retroactive Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC) payments or are instead limited to six years of backpay under the federal Barring Act.